HMD 2016 Don’t Stand By

Holocaust Memorial Day is an important day to remember the people murdered by Nazi persecution and tyranny. Vast swathes of Europe’s Jewish communities were wiped out along with political opponents, members of the LGBT community, ethnic minorities such as the Sinti and Roma people, black people, Jehovah’s Witnesses and disabled people. Yet it is also a day to remember genocide in all its forms, wherever it occurs.

The theme “Don’t Stand By” is a reminder of how quickly persecution can begin and where it can lead. It asks people to actively remember those that perished, take action to prevent such atrocities from happening again, and to support those that survived and the families that have been devastated.

Holocaust Memorial Day takes place on January 27th every year. It is a day for everyone to pause to remember the millions of people who have been murdered or whose lives have been changed beyond recognition during the Holocaust, Nazi Persecution and in the subsequent genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur.

On Holocaust Memorial Day, we can honour the survivors of these regimes and challenge ourselves to use the lessons of their experience to inform our lives today.

January 27th was chosen as the official Holocaust Memorial Day because it marks the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi death camp.